


Samsāra

by fluffychanel



Category: Bleach
Genre: Bach won the war, M/M, Rape, uke!Aizen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:24:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20233105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffychanel/pseuds/fluffychanel
Summary: Death and rebirth, the basic chain of fate of all spiritual beings, Soul or not. The benefit of being a Shinigami though, is the knowledge of the existence of an afterlife, the downside, no memories are retained whatsoever. Tough luck, or not, that didn’t happen to be the case for Aizen Sousuke.A story in which Aizen Sousuke is not so immortal after all...Pairings: UraharaXAizen and KyourakuXAizenHiatus=> will be picked up again after Claimed II ends





	1. Karma

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: It’s kind of an AU, since it deals with reincarnation, but it’s still set in the Bleach setting, or should I say, Quincy setting. All will become clear whilst reading.
> 
> Warnings: NonCon is present in this fiction. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach, all properties belong to Tite Kubo. 
> 
> A/N: A big thank you to the brainstorming sessions with my proofreader!

**Samsāra**

Summery: Death and rebirth, the basic chain of fate of all spiritual beings, Soul or not. The benefit of being a Shinigami though, is the knowledge of the existence of an afterlife, the downside, no memories are retained whatsoever. Tough luck, or not, that didn’t happen to be the case for Aizen Sousuke.

A story in which Aizen Sousuke is not so immortal after all... 

Pairings: UraharaXAizen and KyourakuXAizen (Both couples are endgame, but there will be some struggles along the way of getting there, so keep in mind that there will be jealousy at first and not an instant healthy polygamous relationship. It takes some time...)

**Chapter one: Karma **

Sousuke hadn’t expected to be affected by Bach’s powers after his stunt with Kyouka Suigetsu. The realisation that Kyouka Suigetsu did not deliver any results anymore, as it should have normally done, stunned him momentarily. Perhaps, his own Zanpakutō’s silence had something to do with it... He didn’t have too much time to ponder about that failure when the darkness surrounding him only worsened.

“Everything will lose its form and become one under my reign.” Bach’s voice was the only thing at that point that became clear. 

Everything else darkened completely, as if he had closed his eyes. No smokey consistency, nor dark rainclouds that made it hard to peer into the distance, but pitch black nighttime visuals engulfed the whole of the Seireitei.

Until that one flash of light lit up Bach like a makeshift spotlight made out of a strike of lightning. It should have poetically been the light at the end of the tunnel; an end to that eternal darkness and perhaps to Bach’s false claim to the throne. 

Yet, Sousuke had his doubts about the chosen method. As if Ishida Uryu could accomplish that, with an arrow. It seemed foolish that a long lost family heirloom would be the answer to defeat the great Quincy king. It supposedly ought to have turned off Bach’s powers minutely, so the winning blow could be dealt out by none other than Soul Society’s greatest saviour, and his own semi experiment; Kurosaki Ichigo.

Only it didn’t.

It could have been the fault of the young hero who had been burdened with the task of defeating an omnipotent tyrant on his own in a matter of a couple of seconds, meaning Kurosaki had made his move a little too late. Or, the Still Silver wasn’t that spectacular after all. The Almighty and his all seeing eyes...they should have known...

It was a foolish attempt, if anything. 

But as expected from Kurosaki Ichigo, he dived in head first into battle, without thinking things through. Granted they didn’t have extra time to scheme the ultimate plan, but it should have made the gears in Kurosaki’s head turn at the very least... 

When the two powers met in a collision, a blinding light distracted Sousuke from what exactly had happened in that second. He had to shield his eyes from the piercing bright light as it practically burned his vision.

His eyes welcomed the darkness of his hand blocking the brightness, but even in combination with his eyes closed, the whiteness seemed to pierce through his retinas, so light in fact that he became lightheaded before his mind surrounded itself to eternal darkness. 

Even as the lights went out and everything became quiet, he could have sworn that he heard Bach’s roaring laughter...

-0-

Sousuke didn’t know how long he was out for it afterwards, but the need for air suddenly ripped him out of his slumber. He struggled to sit up in an attempt to clear his airways.

Why had he been lying down on the ground anyways? Did the collision cause an explosion? By the feeling of it, there seemed to be gravel underneath him, so something must have happened.

He couldn’t look around to make sure. Everything was still dark and quiet, except his own desperate gasping to suck in air because something was still constricting his ability to breathe after his repositioning. He speculated that the Hogyoku was causing the difficulty. Which was odd, his shackles that locked down his power were gone, there should be no barrier anymore that staved off his control of the orb.

What he could say for certainty though, was that he was aware of the pain in his chest. He grasped at the orb, trying in vain to stop the heavy pulsing that practically went up to his throat. It hurt, in fact everything hurt. And when he tried to access his reiatsu or the Hogyoku’s regenerating abilities, he became all too soon aware of the Hogyoku not responding at all, the orb seemed to be out of control.

He closed his eyes, or at least he thought he did, the all consuming darkness made it difficult to distinguish if he had done so... Then he tried to find some peace of mind in his moment of distress which he could accomplish if he blocked everything out, not only his thoughts, but his feelings as well. Which was harder than he had initially thought, since his enormous reiatsu had always doused any discomfort in a second. 

Maybe his mind was in shock?

He only needed to reach a meditative state in which he could concentrate on his breathing. His body was becoming desperate for some normal breaths instead of the frenzied hiccups for some air... His lungs were straining from all that forceful inhaling that just wouldn’t bring him any relief whatsoever.

It made him vulnerable, since he was too preoccupied with his own situation to even think about his surroundings. And without being certain of the outcome of the war, he couldn’t be sure who had the upper hand. No matter which side won, he more or less was still aware of what would happen to him; he would still be considered a prisoner by both sides. Bach wouldn’t forgive his rejection and the Soul Society wouldn’t grant him any salvation.

The palm that settled on his shoulder therefore startled him and it should have opened his airways in some way, yet it only triggered the opposite. The darkness, the sudden touch...it caused his lungs to constrict even more.

Was he in the hands of an enemy or a foe? Considering he didn’t have many friends, perhaps none at all, his miserable state was a curse in itself.

So...weak. What had been the purpose of the Hogyoku if it didn’t even listen to his commands, the blasted orb had simply malfunctioned...

“Shh...it’s okay... breathe in through your nose...”

That voice sounded calming, not a threat at all. And when the palm moved toward his back, soothingly caressing down before travelling back up, he actually tried to listen to what the male, that had approached him, had to say.

“Slowly, normal breaths through your nose.”

It was advice actually and that from a random stranger? Yet, he unconsciously did as he was told, if only to try and regain some semblance of control over himself again.

“Now hold your breath for a couple of seconds, before breathing out through your mouth.”

Oh marvellous advice! Holding his breath...he was actually trying to accomplish the opposite!

When his own desperate gasping didn’t lessen at all, the other man began a demonstration on how to breathe. He still couldn’t see the other, but he could hear the slow breathing next to him being pronounced, along with the exhales.

It was ridiculous...but it somehow managed to distract him from his focus of finding the right rhythm. His deep desperate inhales therefore stopped as well and to his surprise, it became natural again to breathe without putting any thought to it.His lungs were grateful for the air again.

“There, there...” the palm on his back patted him before it detangled from his hair. Since when did his hair become so long? “Your panic attack is over.”

While the reassurance was probably no more than that, it offended him. Panic attack? As if he could be bothered by something so...mortal. Not to mention what could possibly manage to distress him to the extent of suffering from panic... 

“No.” he therefore denied resolutely without giving any context to what he had been denying. 

When the man chuckled, Sousuke looked beside him, and in the dark he could see some sort of shadow, an outlining of a person, but besides that...

“I could continue our tête-à-tête, but I think that we would have to be put on hold until we’re in a safer area.”

He definitely ignored that context entirely. But the voice...it sounded so familiar now that he actually listed to it.

A shout from in the distance broke him out of his musings. A flash of light seemed to be accompanied by the barked commands that were moving along with what appeared to be a flashlight.

“Okay, time to go.”

When the hand returned, plural now, since both palms reached out to him, he pushed off the one that reached somewhere under his knees.

What did the other think he was doing?!

“Sorry, but we gotta move fast and unless you want to be shot, it’s best we get out of here.”

Well he could walk!

The utter disgrace! That was exactly what he felt when the other man continued his advances and picked him up bridal style. Especially when it felt like the clothes he wore rode up entirely, exposing his lower half for sure. What was he wearing exactly?! It felt no longer than an oversized shirt...

Three or four steps was all the man could take before his insistent struggling got through to the other. Which he only accomplished after he forced the hand supporting his back to move. So unless he were to be dropped down, his ‘saviour’ had to put him back down on the ground.

Which had not been a good idea. The second his bare feet (where were his shoes?) touched the gravelled ground, he was made aware of his unsteady legs that were shaking under invisible strains. He tugged the impossibly short...shirt down, and felt a sudden twinge of pain that shot up the small of his back, no it was worse, the ache originated even lower... and it was hurting unimaginably. 

What had happened...why did he have no memories of what had transpired previously? Had he broken or strained anything because of the explosion? Had he been crushed underneath something?

The other man had moved away a little further, but when it became apparent that Sousuke wasn’t following, the man returned to his side.

How could the other navigate so easily in the dark? Except shadows he couldn’t really...Panic began to settle in at the thought of, “Why can’t I see anything?!”

Getting worked up would be an immense fault on his part, but everything accumulated... He didn’t know where he was, everything hurt, he didn’t know what had transpired or why he had woken up the way he had.

“Well it is nighttime...” the amusing voice next to him suddenly whispered in a hushed tone.

It wasn’t funny!

Hands settled on his back again and under his knees before he was carried unceremoniously. “We really have to go now, they’re getting close.” His own palm automatically settled on the man’s shoulder in order to hold on to something.

But he did still struggle and tugged the dammed short thing he was wearing lower, he actually kept his hand permanently stationed at his upper thigh so it did something to cover up his privates. So many questions remained, they only added up... Who was getting close? A Shinigami, a Quincy? Who won the war? What state was Soul Society in, how long was he out for it? Long enough judging by the aches in his body... 

And most importantly why wasn’t his reiatsu thrumming vigorously?! 

“But to give you some semblance of reassurance, I’m wearing these special nighttime binoculars that my friend made. Else it would be impossible to hunt during the Nacht.”

Nacht?

His struggles intensified after that single word, was he being held by a Quincy?

The other person seemed bigger overall and despite his persistent struggling, the man didn’t let go of him. Perhaps it was better to wait on a moment to catch him off guard? Because in the state he was in now, it would be useless to outrun someone that was clearly still fit to come after him. 

And with no powers, nor energy to spare, he would barely stand a chance...

Besides the track in itself seemed to be one with quite a few obstacles on the way, it almost felt as if they were hiking in the dark...

So he swallowed down his pride and just let himself be carried by this...random person that came to his help. And in all honesty, he was actually also glad for the warmth that radiated off of the other. The man that carried him wore long sleeves or something, since he couldn’t feel bare skin, but it was at least a warmer fabric than what he himself was wearing. The flimsy short robe did hardly anything to protect him from the cold nighttime...which he now firmly held down in order to avoid flashing his companion whom apparently could see very well in the dark...

The rumbled chuckle from the other made Sousuke a little too conscious of his own state of near undress. 

When they reached what appeared to be a bridge, the four lanterns on top of each column on the edges of the bridge brought him as much relief as the fact that he could breathe normally again. Alright, he wasn’t blind.

The man put him down as soon as they reached the side of the bridge. And with a friendly urge at the small of his back, which made him wince lightly, he was made to hide underneath the structure. Yet he made sure to inspect the stones from up close.

The architecture was something that he immediately noticed. While there had been already some stone bridges in the Seireitei, this was far more modern and robust. It had some similarities to the ones he had seen in Karakura Town. Had he perhaps been stranded in the human world?

That would be impossible, unless total destruction caused the gates to be damaged irreparably...

When he was about to inspect the sides of the bridge, he was pulled back by his forearm, the sudden pull made him want to speak up about the other’s strange habit of acting so familiar with him, but another hand covered his mouth soon thereafter. “Shh...”

And that had been perhaps for the best, because the shouted commands suddenly sounded louder. Definitely in German now that he paid attention to the language itself. And judging by the flashlight that shone on the ground in front of them, they were searching for someone...

When it shone in the distance from where they had come, he could see nothing but rubble, not just gravel.

Did Bach claim victory?

When the voices gradually disappeared, and the hand that had covered his mouth was taken off as well, it was time to get some answers. So he turned around to finally face his companion and get a proper glimpse of him as soon as that hood was pulled down and those goggles were taken off.

At the sight of the man though, he promptly forgot what he was about to ask. “Kyouraku-san?”

Kyouraku was wearing a long hooded robe, which explained the rather warm fabric that he had been snuggled up against.

Sousuke had been in relative safe hands with other words. Since, during the war, he and Kyouraku could interact on normal talking terms at least. Which wasn’t a problem for him either way, manners should be common decency, even when in the company of an enemy. If only to rile them up even more...

But his way of thinking did seem to be the exception. The moment he had rejoined the Shinigami side after his release from Muken, he couldn’t exactly count on a warm welcome by everyone... 

A pity really. 

A wide smile greeted him and one of Kyouraku’s palms rested on his own sternum in a seemingly flattered gesture. “You recognise me?”

Of course... 

“So you’re a reader, which was your favourite novel?” dark grey hopeful eyes stared at him widely.

What?

Wait a minute...hadn’t Kyouraku lost an eye during a fight with one of the Sternritter? He had clearly seen the Captain Commander covering up one of his eyes. While both eyes now seemed to be just fine, not even a scar was visible.

The almost giddy manner in which Kyouraku started rummaging under his cloak on the lookout for something along with the inquiring, “The Golden Maiden? Or Reflections of the Pond?” was just...odd.

His silence or general confusion didn’t seem to bother Kyouraku at all, he was up in another cloud with his head it seemed...

“You know what, where do you live? Maybe we’ll pass by my house and I can give you a signed copy.”

What did Kyouraku mean by, where did he live? In prison. Had Kyouraku hit his head? Was he free now? Was he himself actually still Aizen, because he was beginning to become worried over their identity to be honest. Yet when he looked down at himself, he was reminded of the short...cloth he was wearing. He tugged it down for the umpteenth time when his junk actually peeked out a bit. At least that was still the same. He looked to be wearing some sort of modern day hospital gown, just really short. That would actually also explain why his back seemed to be bare, except his long hair that semi covered it...

How long exactly was he out of it? It had to be months if his hair had grown passed his shoulders...

The wind that swept around them reminded him of the cold and he shivered lightly to which Kyouraku unceremoniously took off his own robe.

“My bad, you must be cold...”

Even though he didn’t want to accept it, he would be glad that he could cover himself decently up...

Without the robe, Kyouraku didn’t seem to be wearing his Shinigami uniform either. Even the flowery pink kimono was missing. In fact, the almost tattered, worn out dark blue kosode and matching shorts seemed too...simple for the Kyouraku heir? And where was Katen Kyokotsu? Would it be wise for Kyouraku to be running around without his trusted Zanpakutō?

When Kyouraku then leaned in towards him in order to cover his shoulders with the robe, an appreciative murmur came in a deep rumble, before Kyouraku’s warm fingers enclosed his chin.

The sudden action surprised him and he batted the intruding palm away.

“That was a little too forward.” Kyouraku agreed. “But you have exquisite eyes. Would it be too much if I told you the colour almost took my breath away?”

That was a little forward indeed...it almost seemed flirty, not to mention...inappropriate considering he had almost choked to death. Talk about a bad pickup line...

Kyouraku was naturally over friendly, but he wouldn’t be this flattering to another male...

Which was not the part that bothered Sousuke necessarily. He had kept Gin close, very close...

But he wouldn’t expect Kyouraku to put any advances on him.

“Sorry...I’m a little too hasty, must be because you’re my first fan that I meet in person.”

Fan?! Alright, now it was becoming weird...

And the look he was giving Kyouraku probably put him out of that stupor as well, since he admitted it was best to leave their hiding spot first.

“Where do you live? Judging by the state I found you in, you probably escaped from the Rukon Ghetto?”

“Ghetto?”

Rukongai was a far cry from the fancy upbringing in the Seireitei, but to call it a ghetto? The Souls were no minority group, they just lacked money. 

“It’s alright, my place is there as well.” came the same reassuring tone as before.

Kyouraku living in the Rukongai? What had happened to the Kyouraku estate then? With each bit of information it seemed likelier that the possibility of Bach having won, was a fact. 

“You think you can walk just fine now?” Kyouraku put on his goggles again.

He nodded, but the second he took a few steps the sharp burning returned in his backside...

“I can carry you.”

Even though he had shoved most of his pride down the drain already these past ten minutes, he couldn’t just let himself be carried around like a damsel in distress. He was Aizen Sousuke, he was a divine God, he was supposed to be immortal...

His immortality...maybe that explained it.

Suddenly Kyouraku’s behaviour didn’t seem so strange anymore. Had Kyouraku passed away? Shinigami were reborn, just the same as regular Souls, and with no knowledge of their previous life. He had never reencountered a deceased person, but that seemed to be the only explanation he could come up with.

The Shinigami army had lost another Captain Commander...Well, if Bach had gained the upper hand, chances were that they were no longer in need of a Captain Commander anyways...

Hands reached out anyways and before he knew it Kyouraku made motions of taking him back into his arms. He pushed those grabby hands away, but to no avail...

“It will take forever at this pace, you’ve clearly strained something, your whole legs are full of bruises...”

Full of bruises? As he was being carried bridal style again, he could catch a glimpse of the skin on his legs and they were practically covered in dark blue almost purple marks. Which was a first, his skin getting stained or blemished by a fight? Never. Even wide gashes through his chest would have healed in no time...

He grasped at the Hogyoku again. Were his Reiatsu and the orb shackled by something? Someone or something clearly got a hold of him...

They disappeared back into the dark afterwards, probably to avoid running into any Quincy. And it was quite a journey since it took some time to get there. The silence throughout the night made him aware of the sound of them moving through the rubble. Clearly, Soul Society or wherever he even was now, was not going to look the same anymore...

They stopped at a brick wall that was build as far as he could see beyond his vision. As if it acted like some kind of fencing, the barbed wire on top of the wall was there for a purpose, either to keep everyone in or prevent anyone from escaping. At least there were some lights passed the wall, because the bright beams almost peeked over on their side.

Kyouraku put him down again, looked around them to make sure they were alone, before he started counting the bricks at a particular one. He then started removing the ones underneath that one, starting from the third brick. Until a small opening was visible. Kyouraku then motioned at him as if asking him to crawl through it. 

He looked at Kyouraku, trying to decipher that goodnatured smile. Did he really have a choice here? He still didn’t know where he was or what had happened exactly...

But it was not like Kyouraku formed a threat.

When he bent down through his knees, the pain in his rear got worse, he hoped it was because he had fallen on his ass or something embarrassing like that instead of what it was beginning to feel like. Because that burn was a familiar one, just much worse than he had been used to...

Though he did his best to hide any emotion, not a wince or any show of pain, because he didn’t feel like explaining this kind of ache...

And once he crawled through, he felt some sort of familiarity. It was the Rukongai. And while his only connection to the Rukongai was liquidation missions to prevent an imbalance in Souls and his own lucrative hunts on Soul pieces for the Hogyoku, he was somehow glad to still be situated in Soul Society.

Kyouraku had long since joined him as well and was putting the stones back in place by then.

When they walked down the streets, more like passageways that were on all sides bordered by rundown structures that couldn’t be called a house, it seemed like the Rukongai was still crowded, even at night. Perhaps even more so, because the shacks seemed to be squished up together like row houses. Lanterns lit up the passageways and campfires burned in the middle of the road. The smell of fish and cooked vegetables hung in the air. Along with the stench of the sewers...

There was no proper drainage available, except the ditches on the sides of the passageways, literally in front of everyone’s doors...

That feeling of relief dissipated rather quickly at that.

He hugged the robe tighter around him.

“Where do you live, I will drop you off first, you seem like you need your rest. And you can stop by the shop tomorrow and I’ll give you that copy then.” Kyouraku told him in that antsy manner.

He was still going on about that signed copy?...

Well, he had been more or less following Kyouraku, though at a much slower pace. Each step still felt as if he could collapse at any second. Kyouraku had slowed down his own pace already considerably. 

“I don’t...actually...” he admitted. What was he going to do? He couldn’t lie, he wasn’t looking forward to sleep on the street, definitely not in the Rukongai.

He wasn’t exactly harmless without his powers, but with the way he was feeling right now... And he certainly didn’t want to be caught having such a fit like he did earlier. By the looks of it, the rules of survival of the fittest still ran along in the Rukongai.

“Aha.” Kyouraku blinked in surprise and looked him up and down as if he just now noticed that something wasn’t right. “You didn’t escape from Zentralkrankenhaus, did you?”

He didn’t understand that, but he didn’t want to come off as suspicious. Besides it was best to go explore while he was in a better state and during the daytime.

“Could I sleep at your place for just one night?”

He saw it in Kyouraku’s eyes; doubt and distrust. But a friendly smile along with a pat on his back told him differently. “Of course.”

That was the Kyouraku he knew. The previous commander easily hid an unpredictability underneath that aloofness.

It wasn’t that far off from where they had been standing. A small shack, couldn’t have been bigger than a captain’s office, which was probably still one of the bigger ones around...

“We’ll have to go through the shop’s door though, since the front door is bordered shut.”

Some type of shutters, less sturdy than the actual metallic material were pulled up, squished up against the wall of the shack they had been standing in front. The sign above immediately got his attention when it spelled out, ‘The Urahara Shop.’

“I live with my roommate, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind your company.”

Kisuke...well, well. He chuckled at the thought. Could he ever get rid of that pest?

The actual shop was no bigger than a market stall, in fact it could just fit in one of those wooden tables and underneath, boxes were stuffed with... He took a deep breath, food by the smell of it. 

He was then lead through a side door, an opening actually, covered by a cloth. Was this the actual entrance of the...house. Could it even be called that?

When Kyouraku lit up the room through the lantern that hung by the door he was met by the sight of the living room.

There was a crate somewhere off to the side which probably functioned as a makeshift table, considering there were some cups and a bottle stationed on the surface. The cushions around it on the floor were the designated seats, two as far as he could see. Which wasn’t perhaps the worst of the living area, traditional houses in the commoner districts in Soul Society also had similar eating style habits. But there was nothing else present that resembled decent household goods. 

A small burner crafted to fit on a structure that held the cooker at the same level as the table stood next to the crate. That probably made the crate both a dining table and a counter to prepare food on.

When he stepped aside to let Kyouraku pass, he nearly tripped over a bucket with water. Cups and plates seemed to be washed in the small basin, since there were a couple of them still soaking in the stagnant water...

These were worse conditions than in Muken, he at least had some furniture in prison.

“Could I use the bathroom?” he asked quickly before the streets outside were beginning to seem like a more decent option as an overnight. And he was desperate to get a look at his appearance.

When he stepped in the bathroom, he was sure at first that this was just supposed to be the toilet, but after picturing the whole measurements of the shack, this was probably it. He couldn’t even take three full steps in the tiny room. Two at most, since the toilet, or hole in the ground, took up one big step. And after daring a quick glance in the hole, he choked on a small groan of despair. The small room smelled just as bad as the outside and now he knew why.

Really? Where had he landed himself in? He had been used to such luxury in Hueco Mundo. Even Muken was comfortable compared to...this. At least he was kept in a somewhat dormant state in Central prison, he hadn’t needed food nor a way to relief himself.

Yet, without his pressure supplying him with energy, his body was now in need of nutrients.

He didn’t look around for the shower, because the empty bucket, the low stool on the ground and the drain in the middle, conveniently in front of the hole on the ground, was probably...that.

No mirror was to be found, so he quickly went back in the main room.

He doubted he would get a positive answer, but seeing as Kyouraku had long hair, he had to be in possession of something that showed his reflection. “Do you have a mirror?”

“Sure.” Kyouraku promptly began rummaging in one of the obviously self crafted wooden drawers that took up most of the space in the small shack. A small wooden box was then put on the makeshift table. The wooden box had an intricate design on it, ancient or vintage and in no way self made. At least not by Kyouraku or Urahara...for sure. 

A big smoking pipe was taken out then, featuring the same designs on the sides which made Sousuke raise a brow in confusion. Where was the mirror? But it was apparently only done to take out a smaller box and when he opened that, the lid had a mirror. Kyouraku handed it over to him, to which he could admire the contents inside of the box; tobacco, of course.

He looked himself over in the mirror. He seemed to be sporting the looks of his third fusion of the Hogyoku. Odd. Did that mean that the Hogyoku was just suppressed, but else worked just fine?

It also suddenly made sense why Kyouraku had been so intrigued by the sight of his eyes. The deep purple and magenta around his irises certainly were no everyday feature... And simultaneously also explained why his hair was so long.

No blemishes on his face as far as he could tell, which he was grateful of. At least his face was spared.

Kyouraku seemed to be amused with the way he was looking himself over, so he had enough of that deep gazing after a while and handed him back the tobacco box.

“Do you want me to roll out a futon for you here? Or would you like to sleep with us?”

What exactly was the nature of their relationship? Sure two bedrooms wouldn’t be able to fit in the small shack...but still. 

“Us?”

“Yeah, me and my roommate.” Kyouraku elaborated. “Separate futons.” he added afterwards while gesturing with two fingers.

“Here would be fine.” he didn’t have any other choice did he? He certainly wasn’t going to sleep in the bathroom.

Kyouraku rearranged the only bit of furniture they had. The burner and crate were pushed to the far left, blocking the ‘entrance’ of the house. He then disappeared through the only other door in the house, which he presumed was the bedroom, before appearing again a bit later with a futon. 

He was assisted with setting it up, even though he had told Kyouraku it was fine, before he was finally left alone.

The mattress was thin and hard, not the sort of futon he could easily find his rest on. Luckily, he was tired enough to fall asleep anywhere. As he took off the robe, he inspected the bruises on his legs. The ones on his thighs were suspiciously shaped like handprints. Kyouraku hadn’t touched his thighs and even if he had, his grip hadn’t been strong enough to leave such a mark.

He winced again as he repositioned, but more so out of realisation of what might have happened... He needed some answers and fast...

Before blowing out the lantern, he thought about taking off the hospital gown, but was perplexed at finding the emblem of the Quincy army on the left side of his chest. How had he missed that?!


	2. Stranded

Sousuke woke up the second he felt something moist come in contact with the spot just above his calve. Then it turned into a caress and fingers were fleetingly introduced before the touch continued up his leg. He sprang up in a second, grabbed the wrist of the intruding hand and pulled the body attached to the limb closer so he could straddle the person with a knee digging perfectly into one of the most important pressure points; which was in the middle of the sternum.

It didn’t matter if the aches in his body strained along with his hasty defensive attack, but he couldn’t let that blatant show of disrespect continue either.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself at least.” Urahara Kisuke looked up at him with wide eyes from beneath him. A piece of cotton was squeezed into one of his hands, which would have to be the item that had been dabbed against his marks... 

The slight pink hue to those cheeks had him first think Urahara definitely recognised him either way, yet those words and the fact that the blush was the result of him practically straddling the blond in that stupid short gown that rode up at the slightest move...

Urahara truly didn’t recognise him? Sousuke would never admit it outrightly to Urahara, but,Soul Society had lost one of his greatest trump cards...

Speaking of great defence... Not a second after Urahara had completed his sentence, Sousuke was blocked from moving by an arm from behind him, that held him in a makeshift headlock while something sharp pointed at his neck in warning. 

Kyouraku at least still had his reflexes it seemed...

His own hands fisted Kyouraku’s wrist in an instant, unfortunately making the gown ride up even more, exposing his entire lower half. He saw Urahara’s gaze zoning down...

“I see you two met, Kisuke, this is...” The tight head lock loosened just a tad, only to guide him off of Urahara, whom stood up and offered up his pomade in a sort of truce.

“It’s a healing balm. It’s completely organic, I made it myself.” 

Yet Kyouraku’s hold itself didn’t let up at all when they straightened up as well. And their height difference made Sousuke practically stand on his tip toes. 

“Sousuke.” he introduced as soon as he was able to prevent that strong arm from muffling his speech.

When the arm disappeared from around him, he pulled the gown back down and glanced back at Kyouraku, but the sharp metal had been attached to a small dagger, couldn’t be larger than Kyouraku’s palm.

Well, that was a downsize from the standard Zanpakutō.

Didn’t they have any normal weapons lying around? Against a gun that didn’t really seem like the most fair alternative...

“I surprised him, Shunsui, is all.” Urahara ensured Kyouraku in a dismissive wave, before the blond practically pushed the healing balm in his hands.

Sousuke didn’t grab on to it though, so Urahara put it with an elaborate motion on the crate instead, just so he knew where to find it. 

Those were just bruises, they would go away in a couple of days... He certainly didn’t need Urahara’s help for that. He never needed anyone but himself. Now he did...lend some things from Urahara in the past...but that was different. That was out of his own free will and not because he was offered the help. 

“Now that introductions are out of the way.” Kyouraku replied amusedly and put the dagger somewhere back into the grey samue top he was wearing. Both were actually wearing the same attire, along with matching dull grey jinbei. The material didn’t seem durable and had actually been rather rough to the touch, or that could have just been Kyouraku’s near choking hold...

When Kyouraku started folding his futon and blanket, Sousuke had been just about to lend a hand, just so he didn’t come across as a disrespectful guest, but by the time that he had bend down and realised that wouldn’t be a good idea what with his own clothes, Kyouraku had his bedding material already in hand. 

With Kyouraku disappearing into what was presumably the bedroom, he could see that the jinbei was also much too small on Kyouraku’s large frame, the pants ended well above his knees actually.

The sight made him chuckle unconsciously until he was aware that he felt Urahara’s eyes on him.

“Where do you come from, Sousuke?”

He looked down at the hospital gown that he was wearing, making sure he was still somewhat decent. The emblem definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Urahara’s perceptive gaze though.

Then why the question when he probably knew the answer already? It was not like Sousuke could give an honest response. He still had no memories of what had happened.

No need to lie either, they were offering up their home to him in the first place. “My memory is a little fuzzy...”

Urahara nodded with a smile, but the lingering glance told him that Urahara might know the truth anyways.

When Kyouraku returned they put the crate, burner and cushions back against the far wall to the right, limiting the space in the tiny main room once again. 

What with Kyouraku’s large frame in comparison to his own, he would like to feel a little less naked. “Could I have some clothes?” He wasn’t going to run around in the gown forever.

They both pointed to the room where he hadn’t been into yet. “You’ll find something in the dressers.”

Alright.

Turned out to be the bedroom indeed, and there was definitely some space between the two futons that were set up. No built in closets that would normally be found in the traditional builds in Soul Society, instead two storage compartments with drawers stood against the wall. Full of the same sort of clothing, different colours, but all were the same dark hues.

When he went through the options of basic samue and jinbei ensembles, it became pretty clear that none of them were meant to fit a particular body style; one size fits all. Or that was at least what the cheap alternatives were made to present.

It fit decently on himself, it was at least better than the hospital gown...

As he was about to rejoin the two, he heard Urahara whisper, “Those eyes...” to Kyouraku. He didn’t catch much more than that, because the noise of the door sliding barely open had alerted them to his presence once again.

“Well, I’m going to make sure that we have some water and food here.” Kyouraku grabbed his coat that he had slung over the wooden drying rack near the entrance. “Oh yeah, before I forget, here.” Kyouraku pushed two sort of scripts into his hands. “It’s signed.” he stated proudly, before waving them off and leaving.

He looked at what had been apparently Kyouraku’s pride and joy and the thing that he talked about almost nonstop since yesterday. It seemed a self written book? A romance novel actually when he had browsed through it and caught words such as, ‘The breath that warmed my skin...-the heated entwinement of our bodies...’ he closed it quickly as he heard Urahara’s amused chuckle.

“So that’s how you two met.”

“I need to go.” he answered instead. It was about time that he got some answers.

“You don’t need to leave on my behalf.”

He barely heard it as he had turned to disappear through the curtained doorway, yet Urahara pulled him back to put the black hooded robe over his shoulders. The oversized coat also had convenient pockets stored inside, where he stuffed the books in. 

“People around here wouldn’t think twice about reporting you.”

He glanced back.

What? Why would he be reported?

Urahara then put the hood in place, so it covered him practically from Sousuke’s vision.

“Make sure they don’t see those eyes.”

That didn’t make him much wiser on the situation... Sousuke did take the vague warning to heart though and pulled the hood unconsciously if possible even lower, gave a nod and left as well. 

\----

The sky was dark and cloudy. It wasn’t chilly by any means, so the hood probably made Sousuke stand out anyways. 

The fires were just now being lit again, explaining the smoke that hung in the air, because some were just recently extinguished. Water was being boiled and taken inside by some. And he couldn’t be for sure, but he thought that he recognised some random Shinigami.

Nobody was wearing shoes when he paid attention to his surroundings, not even sandals, and the clothes consisted of the same ensemble that Kyouraku and Urahara had at least a dozen of stuffed in their drawers. 

While the societal human roles of what could be seen as a male’s job or a female’s job was no longer present in Soul Society since two millennia, it seemed like the men were going in one direction, while mostly females were sitting around the campfires and cooking?

He had visited the most rundown districts in the Rukongai, but the households were never this primitive and stuck in a predefined role.

And while there was nothing wrong with a women behind the stove in his opinion, he was sure that some of the Shinigami females would have long since started a riot at that change in the Seireitei.

Yet, now they didn’t know better?

He stopped and stared at what seemed to be Kuchiki Rukia tending to a little redheaded kid, before she motioned inside of their hut and the squirt ran inside, only to come running out with Abarai Renji in tow.

“You know that you can’t come along, kiddo, go play with Kazui.” Renji addressed the kid while gesturing at his neighbour. Who so happened to be Orihime Inoue, whom had a sowing needle and a piece of fabric in hand. 

“Ichigo is almost ready.” she responded to Renji, before she went back inside. 

The longer he was stuck in this...situation, the more it seemed to belong to some alternative universe. Were they even aware that they were Shinigami?

Not a minute later, Kurosaki Ichigo stepped outside of the hut Inoue had just been standing in front of. He joined Renji, before they both followed the mass of men that were walking in a certain direction. 

None of the men carried a Zanpakutō though...

He stopped his stalking habits and followed the mass, before his staring was noticed.

But he kept inspecting his surroundings, and was even surprised when he encountered Zaraki Kenpachi that carried a whole dead boar on his shoulders, blood covered the scarred man’s arms and hands. Not that such a wild image was a foreign one when thinking about the eleventh’s captain. But when he threw the dead animal near Retsu Unohana, Sousuke was sure the order to skin and gut the animal was one to surely earn Kenpachi being gutted himself by the captain of the fourth. Yet she smiled gently and immediately procured a dagger from somewhere inside of their hut, before she did as she was told.

Odd. Perhaps he was somewhere stuck in purgatory. It would make sense that he would be doomed to an endless limbo of suffering a meaningless existence.

Family life never really impressed him much.

He branched off from the long line of men when the queue only seemed to lessen with a couple of shuffles instead of sure steps. In the distance the long wired walls connected a large gate that was opened, and when he actually saw where the line ended, it was obvious it was a checkpoint of some sort. Quincy soldiers, clearly in uniform and armed, formed a human blockage and guarded the exit and entrance. While two others were checking some papers it seemed. 

The sign next to the huge Quincy emblem read, ‘Identifikation’ 

Well, that would be impossible to get through...

His lingering along the sidelines didn’t go unnoticed though. A couple of the Quincy were whispering and seemingly glancing in his direction. The hood wasn’t exactly inconspicuous... 

Sousuke pulled the hood even further down and turned to the left, in between the huts on the search of Kyouraku’s lucrative side entrance. It couldn’t be that hard to find again in between the maze of huts and rundown wooden structures. It was obviously somewhere along the sidelines against the walls. He did glance back a couple of times, just to make sure that he wasn’t followed. He hadn’t been acting that suspicious...but he was better safe than sorry when he still wasn’t entirely sure what was happening.

And thankfully, the outer streets, near the walls weren’t as crowded.

He found it easily though and apparently wasn’t the only one to choose an alternative route when a woman and a couple of kids were gathered around at a certain angle. The hole through the wall was much smaller than the one Kyouraku and he had crawled through, it could fit maybe a small kid. And that was perhaps what she was instructing her children?

When she saw Sousuke though, the woman began reapplying the bricks, seemingly trying to hide what she just had been about to do.

He approached them, nearly scaring them off for some reason when she pulled her kids back and away from the loosened bricks. Yet when she became aware that Sousuke was sliding the bricks out again, she reluctantly returned with her flock of children. 

It definitely wasn’t the same entrance Kyouraku had created, because the only bricks that could be removed would only allow a small sized person through; a slender nine year old at best.

The woman afterwards cautiously stuck her head through and inspected the other side for a while.

It gave Sousuke time to look the kids over that were staring at him, desperately trying to look through the hood. Each child was a head taller than its sibling and they all resembled each other. They were dirty, hair a mess, seemingly the typical sort of individual that could be found in the lower districts of the Rukongai.

Their intrigue was snapped back to the mother when she called over one of her young, pushed something in the kid’s hands before she ushered the little one through the opening. Apparently a habit, since the next in line came to stand at the ready, but the woman prevented the kid from following its sibling. She first had to inspect the other side again.

Well, at least she had some common sense. But to send off her kids like that? Only the strongest survived in such environments, but some of those children didn’t look older than six...

The next one crawled through and as she was about to repeat the entire process, the shout of, “Halt! Stehen bleiben!” froze her minutely in the spot. Then she immediately backed off from the entrance and pulled her other children away from the opening in the bricks. 

Just in time too, since a machine gun going off along with a single cry had him quickly glancing at the mother’s face that seemed to be contorted in an anguished cry of her own. Whether one of her kids had just been struck or not, she still seemed to be sane enough to drag the rest of her flock away in order to disappear in between the row of huts.

It now also made sense why the outer row houses had some sort of sand sacks lining their walls. But Sousuke doubted that that sort of protection was enough to keep out a catapulted bullet... 

The sound of combat boots nearing and a jumble of German phrases that he couldn’t understand for the life of him, shocked him enough to move out of the way and back into the crowded streets instead.

Maybe there had been a reason for Kyouraku’s late night wandering...

He was soon back at Urahara’s little shop where the man in question was selling his merchandise. He nodded at the blond and received the same sort of gesture in return as he entered the house. 

Before he tried that again, it would be better to wait until the Quincies were less on guard. And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to depend on some info throughout his hosts first...

He sat down on one of the cushions and aimlessly awaited the return of either Kyouraku or whenever Urahara was done with his shop.

\----

Endlessly contemplating the weird situation Sousuke had been dropped in had become ardent quickly, so instead he had taken a look into Kyouraku’s manuscript. And while he doubted it would have spruced up his intelligence, he had nothing better to do anyways.

Yet when he had read through a couple of pages and he had warmed himself up inside of the hut, the warmth radiating off of him probably had to do with Kyouraku’s rather explicit...reading material. 

If he remembered correctly, there had been a rumour in the Seireitei going around that Kyouraku had written actual romance novels. 

But if they had been similar to this, then it was basically porn, starring two men as the main couple nonetheless. He had never been aware that Kyouraku was leaning towards men.

“Do you want more?” the sudden reappearance of Kyouraku put him out of his browsing and he suddenly became a tad bit uncomfortable at the older man’s lecherous smirk. “You look like you’re in need of some cooling off.” A questionably clean cup was put in front of him, along with a just as smudgy bottle of what appeared to be water. “The bacteria has been boiled out. The bottles in that rack will soon be filled with clean water, but the barrel outside though, I wouldn’t recommend drinking from that. That’s mainly for the bathroom.”

He was a little surprised at Kyouraku’s hospitable explanations, it was not like he was planning on staying...

Of course he was still stranded in their little hut, and when he was about to question Kyouraku about the situation, Kyouraku shook the two dead chickens he had grasped by the neck. Feathers scattered on the ground. “I’m gonna pluck these, so we’ve got some food, eh.”

He could only nod curtly as Kyouraku disappeared back outside. 

Shinigami never had to hunt for their meal, if there was enough reiatsu to store away on longterm missions, nourishment was the least of their worries. And if not, there were always the soldier pills that helped restore some energy. Without spiritual energy though, as this prediction seemed to shine out, and probably no decent supplier of food either, this primitive form of living seemed to be the only thing that kept them alive...

Urahara appeared not much later with a kettle full of boiling water that he put on the small burner next to the crate, instantly filling the air with the delicious scent of a vegetable bouillon. Afterwards Urahara joined him at the table. 

Sousuke cleared away the books, because he really was giving off the wrong impression here wasn’t he? Urahara’s grin as soon as he saw the books said it all.

Well, he had enough of the ambiguity. 

“I’ve always know you as a conformist rather than a rebel, Urahara-san. But why aren’t you all rebelling Führer Bach?”

“Did I say my full name?” was all Urahara mused out loud, before the blond cocked his head. “We’ve know each other for a couple of hours and you claim to know everything about me.” 

“You missed the point.” Sousuke cleared up his slip of the tongue, it wouldn’t do to explain their whole history. That would probably end in his hosts’ gracious hospitality... “Why commit yourself to a life of walking in line while it’s obvious that out there his majesty is basking in your loyal submission.”

“Have you seen those guns?” Urahara pronounced with a shooting gesture.

It probably wasn’t wise to bring up reiatsu either, at least not until he was certain of their knowledge of spiritual energy.

“Train yourself, I have seen enough manpower outside. Combine your efforts and armour yourself against the soldiers, you’ll find that those reflexes aren’t exactly foreign to you all.” 

Urahara leaned into him and whispered loudly behind a palm, “I don’t think you’ve been outside at all, Sousuke. We’re forbidden from armouring ourselves unless we want to be put against the wall... The couple of Quincies you see at the checkpoint don’t consist of all of Bach’s power. Outside of these walls, his majesty’s special forces walk around. We’re thoroughly checked when entering or exiting the ghetto. Where are we supposed to practice? Here or in the labor camps, a riot is broken down with a single shot, trust me.”

Kyouraku’s wandering at night must have been for a purpose though...

Maybe they weren’t so keen on sharing any secrets with him yet.

When Urahara backed off again, his repositioning had Urahara’s feet briefly come in contact with Sousuke’s legs next to the crate, so Sousuke repositioned himself in seiza position while Urahara seemingly didn’t notice. “It’s obvious, you come from Zentralkrankenhaus and haven’t been outside, until your escape.” 

“I don’t kn-”

“Listen, it’s fine. You think we haven’t tried to escape as well? Or that we haven’t scoured the area on the search for our own catharsis?”

But why give up so soon? 

“What do you know about Zentralkrankenhaus?” he had pronounced the foreign word hopefully as correctly as possible. Perhaps this sort of approach to questioning would lead him to actual answers...

“Aside from the fact that it is no hospital at all, despite its official function. Well that and that normally the patients never return anymore. The experiments become one’s fatality.”

Experiments?

“Yet you’re still standing though.” Urahara finished with a nod at his person.

No, Urahara was wrong. He an experiment? The irony, no. Urahara must be confused, his looks were the result of the Hogyoku, not because he was experimented on.

Yet it did made him feel the need to bathe.

“I would like to refresh myself.” Sousuke denied by simply averting their conversation.

“Sure, go ahead. Don’t forget to take a bucket full of water from the barrel outside.”

\----

Kyouraku was by then already grilling the chicken on a heated plated outside in front of their hut.

When Sousuke couldn’t find the barrel, he showed Kyouraku the empty bucket, who dismissively motioned at the water storage drum behind him. Sousuke had thought that barrel had only functioned as a drainage of rainwater. 

He had to wash himself with cold rainwater with other words? Exactly how primitive could they get? 

Not even in the year he had been born did his parents have to resort to these sort of living conditions...

And it became obvious pretty quickly that he just wasn’t used to the lack of luxury, despite having spend a couple of years in Muken. The cold water itself was already a very unpleasant experience. But the small amount that he had to make do with was only enough for his body. Definitely not for his long hair...

It refreshed him though, that was the only good thing that he got out of it. And while redressing had warmed him up initially, after a certain amount of time the cold crept through his clothes anyways... 

When he got out of the bathroom food was ready and already served on a plate.

Kyouraku sat on his seat now, so he had to either take a place next to him or next to Urahara instead. Not that it mattered wherever he sat down, but he chose the seat next to Kyouraku.

The food was just as sober as the rest of the interior and exterior; chicken with rice cooked in a vegetable broth... He hadn’t had anything to drink yet either, so he took a good swig of the cup that was provided as well, clean glass or not, he was parched.

He hadn’t expected the burn though, even though he had smelled the pure alcoholic scent... The coughing fit had both of the other men in a laughing fit. His cup of water was then shoved over to his side, which he drank in one go to wash away the burn. 

“Drink with caution. It’s from the black market, good stuff, but if you aren’t used to it...”

He should have known that Kyouraku had to have some sort of alcohol in house.

After a couple of bites from the rice with chicken, he could say that he was just as thankful for the simple food. Because he was suddenly reminded of his empty stomach, how long had he been without any decent meal?

He had lost quite a bit of weight and while he wanted to pass that off as a result of Muken and his transformation, he didn’t know how he had been treated in Zentralkrankenhaus. If that was even the place he originated from in this strange universe.

“The black market? So that is why you had been wandering around last night.” he told Kyouraku knowingly. There was no doubt that Urahara had to be aware of Kyouraku’s missing presence, they shared a room after all. 

“What can I say...” Kyouraku leaned back on both arms, apparently already done with eating. “You’d be a fool not to take advantage of the opportunity to smuggle in some items.”

The almost familiar manner in which Kyouraku placed one of his palms right behind Sousuke, had him fidgeting to put up some distance between them. But he was comfortable enough to remain seated.

“Forbidden items as well? Why not armour yourself then?”

Kyouraku and Urahara shared a particular glance.

“Sousuke, Sousuke,” Kyouraku tutted joyously. “You’re not from around here, are you?” 

“I first thought he was a Quincy turned traitor, but then those eyes...” Urahara concluded before looking into his eyes.

That wasn’t that far off from the truth...except he wasn’t seen as a traitor of the Quincy army.

He averted their gaze when Urahara’s staring made him blink in unease.

“You know what I think you are.” Kyouraku deadpanned while leaning into Sousuke’s side, Kyouraku’s long hair brushed his shoulder. “You’re some sort of fallen angel, mhh, and have come to warn us.”

The warm breath that brushed his cheek made him suddenly think about the explicit words on Kyouraku’s manuscript and he turned his head and focus to pour himself another glass of water. 

The mystery surrounding his sudden appearance must have seemed intriguing... But their undivided attention on him was becoming a little too much.

How long would he be able to keep the entire truth of their history a secret? Both Kyouraku and Urahara wouldn’t be so friendly with him then. And if he had to be honest, he certainly didn’t mind the change of atmosphere. He didn’t need negative attention when he could capture their interest with just his presence. 

But it was probably the mystery around him that made him so interesting in the first place...


End file.
